How Much Does A Squarespace Web Designer Cost?
A Squarespace web designer’s prices can swing from ridiculously cheap to crazily high, depending on who you’re looking at.
This can be a frustrating experience if you’ve never hired a professional designer before or if you are a designer trying to price your services.
To help, I’ve calculated the average cost of 56 Squarespace designers across the globe who publish their prices. Though this research scope is too small to be taken as “facts”, I hope it will assist you in making a decision.
How Much Does a Squarespace Web Designer Cost?
Squarespace designers typically charge an average starting price of $3000 for a custom website design. For help with an existing website, you can expect to pay an hourly rate between $75-$125 per hour.
What Affects Squarespace Web Designer Cost?
Not all Squarespace designers are equal. Designers who have a specialization, such as SEO, copywriting, branding, or a specific niche, will command a more premium price. The designer’s level of experience and brand reputation also contribute to a higher cost.
When getting a custom quote, the complexity of your site will affect your cost. For example, the most common additional design fees that can occur are:
Page volume. A basic website has 5-6 pages. If your site needs more, a good rule of thumb is to budget $500 for each additional page.
Ecommerce set-up. If you plan to sell products online, expect to pay an additional $500 - $2000. You can upload the products by yourself to save the cost.
Custom coding. You might have your heart set on a specific visual style or elements. This can sometimes require custom coding, which adds costs.
Content transfer: If you need to move a blog from another platform to Squarespace, it’s tedious work and the designer will charge you for it.
Additional features. Appointment booking, email marketing, sales funnel setup etc. will all cost extra compared to a standard website.
Now that you know how much Squarespace designers charge, let’s help you accomplish what you actually trying to do here.
👉 If you’re considering hiring a Squarespace web designer, read on as we discuss tips on finding one that fits your goals and budget.
👉 If you’re a Squarespace designer, skip to the next section where I’ll share tips on setting your initial rate and how to increase it over time.
Pricing Tips for Hiring a Squarespace Web Designer
If you’re looking for the cheapest option possible, you can try Upwork, Etsy, or asking around in FB groups. You might be able to find a designer who is willing to build your website for $500 - $1000 from a template.
Keep in mind though:
They will do their best to implement what you tell them, but they don’t have time to think creatively or provide good customer service.
They might leave you with a website less than satisfying because they have to move on to the next client.
In the end, you may pay the non-monetary cost in the form of unpleasant experiences, the time it takes away from productive work, and lost opportunities due to the site being ineffective at converting visitors.
Like all investments, getting a professional website requires focusing on the long-term results. You spend based on the expected benefits.
Set a desirable budget, but also, get quotes from various designers and be open to paying more for quality work.
Tips to find the right Squarespace web designer
Ask for referrals from people in your network.
Check the designer’s public customer reviews on Google, Facebook, or another platform. Your project experience is just as important as the outcome.
Browse the designer’s portfolio to get a feel for their styles. You might not want your website to look exactly like any of their previous work, but do you like their sense of style? Are they versatile enough to accommodate your specific project requirements?
Jump on an intro call with the designer and see if they will be easy to work with. Do they have a process? Do they ask thoughtful questions and listen?
For local businesses, find a designer with SEO specialty so they can help you attract organic search traffic.
Plan your website project at least 3 months earlier than the ideal launch date. In-demand designers may be fully booked months ahead.
Avoid common mistakes when hiring a web designer, like not asking for the full costs or confusion between graphic designers vs. web designers.
Would it be cheaper to hire a WordPress developer instead?
Not really. Squarespace designers charge about the same as WordPress developers and sometimes slightly cheaper for the initial setup.
The real saving though comes from the ongoing maintenance fees. Squarespace maintenance is already done by their in-house development team. You won’t need to pay hundreds dollars of developer’s retainer fees to keep your site safe and running.
Pricing Tips for Squarespace Web Designers
If you’re a new web designer or simply thinking about becoming one, the question of how much to charge is probably on your mind.
Having made many mistakes with pricing, I thought I’d share some tips to help you determine a pricing strategy that fits your business.
For new designers
When you’re new to the business, it can be tough to sell your offers even at a lower price. You may have to do the first few projects at a low rate or for free to build your portfolio and get testimonials.
After 2-3 projects, you can start charging at a fair market rate (ie. $2000+).
Selling great values at a low price can create suspicion and turn away good clients.
If no one is willing to buy at your fair price, work on your business and marketing. Build templates to sell. Take the time to learn and upskill.
Believe in yourself, build the business you want to have, and the right clients will come.
If You Worry Your Pricing Is Too High
You can ask. During the sales call, after communicating the value of your work, give them an estimate of how much their website will cost then ask if this is what they have expected and budgeted for.
If they say yes, great. If they say it’s way out of their budget, move on, they aren’t a good fit for you. But if they say it’s slightly more than their expectation, reiterate the values of your services and offer a payment plan or small discount. This brings us to...
Give Discounts The Right Way
I wasted a lot of time creating custom quotes with discounts for people who were never going to buy my services. Take my words for it, undervaluing your work will do nothing but lower your confidence and create a scarcity mindset.
Instead, offer discounts with reasons.
For example, make your signature design package jam-packed with values so when the prospect can’t afford that full package, you can reduce parts of your services and offer it at a lower price.
Or you can use a small discount as an incentive to pay upfront or sign a contract quickly (e.g. give $200 off if they book within 48 hours after getting a proposal). I took that idea from this article - it’s a great read if you want more tips on pricing as a designer.
